3 ms·
Obviously we don’t have records for the majority cause of death in 100,000BC, however I see no reason to believe that compared to Paleolithic man there are fewe
by AndrewKemendo 3y ago
Obviously we don’t have records for the majority cause of death in 100,000BC, however I see no reason to believe that compared to Paleolithic man there are fewer risks now.
Consider the top youth killers today: drug overdoses, automobile accidents, firearms, household accidents. These were just not possible ways that people could die in 100,000BC. Yet heart attack and cancer have always led death rates for as long as humans have been counting.
My hunch is that people for the most part have always mostly died of “old age” (cancer, heart attack, pneumonia, infection) for all of human history and while overall rate had dropped - the type has changed to be less random biology and more social-cultural (which is worse IMO)
- AntiRemote 3y ago[dead]
- mtlmtlmtlmtl 3y agoPeople have used drugs since time immemorial and even "natural" drugs can kill you. For example dying from esophogeal rupture during those purging ceremonies where toxins are ingested to induce profuse vomiting. Though there were no firearms, there certainly were weapons and murder. Even human sacrifice. Before there were cars, being kicked by a horse was a significant risk. Or being killed by the animals you hunt, like mammoths and other large mammals. And I'm not sure what you mean by suggesting "household accidents". Accidents were possible before too. And way probably more lethal on average because there were no antibiotics, soap, or blood transfusions.
- anthk 3y agoOr just a simple byte. A laceration. A simple fall with a random stone in the road. And so on.